Beginnings Anew
by Shining Time Station
Summary: He suddenly realized that he was falling so fast that there was no way to catch him. He looked into her eyes and understood what his heart was trying to tell him. A part of Schemer's past returns only to have the opposite effect intended for him.


Part One: She devil

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story.

Authoresses Note: Just a quick story that popped into my head. I always wondered about Schemer's past relationships, if he had any that is. This is sort of how I picture a main one he'd have. The timeline of this story coincides with the end of season one of STS.

* * *

"I want you back." Her commanding voice cut through the awkward silence that sat between them. They had been standing like that, facing each other for a good five minutes before she shattered the ice into tiny, un-repairable shards.

He said nothing, how could he? The attractive woman staring him down with her steely glare was suddenly back into his life, demanding that he get involved in hers again. She said she wanted him back, and in all his experience with her he had learned one very important thing. What Jessica wanted, Jessica got.

"Oh." Was all he could reply with. It was after close. The station was empty of all but two people. Jessica and himself, facing each other in the arcade.

"I want you back," She repeated, forming her features into a softer expression, though her tone of voice remained the same, "I want us to start what we once had."

He looked at her at that moment and a sudden disgust erupted in his chest. This was how she got him, this was how she always got him. Trying to look innocent and sorry while maintaining her commanding demeanor. She hadn't changed at all, and to think, he almost fell for it hook, line, and sinker after her first words.

"You left me. Why do you want to start us again?" He squared his shoulders and copied her standoffish attitude. He felt suddenly liberated as he stood up to her for the first real time.

He felt a feeling of satisfaction as he watched the shocked look appear on her face. Quickly replaced by her steely glare once more. Her delicate features becoming harsh and ugly as she frowned at him.

"Don't blame me for what happened!" She snapped. Then as suddenly as her anger appeared she manipulated her face back into it's softer look. "I came here to make amends."

A second time, he almost fell for it. There was no doubt about it, she was attractive. And he was no exception to the male species when it came to attractive women. And again, she would've had him, if she hadn't said the wrong thing for a second time.

"Our relationship was only based on two things. We both agreed on that. Love and commitment never even came into play. And guess what Schemer, it worked. It worked so well when you didn't tie yourself down with petty emotions."

"I was never uncommitted the way you were." He said stony-faced.

"That's not my problem. You had all the freedom you wanted, I wouldn't have cared if you had sought your thrills elsewhere. Why does it suddenly bother you now what I did while you weren't home?" She was becoming crueller with every passing minute. She didn't realize how uninterested he was slowly becoming.

Absorbed in his thoughts on the relationship, he didn't answer. She took this as resignation. "You agreed to it. It didn't bother you at the time, as long as I was coming home with you every other night of the week you were fine with it. Now I'm telling you again, I want to start this up again."

He still didn't answer, he was engrossed on his thoughts still. At the time, he didn't care. It was true, why did it suddenly bother him now? She was telling him to be her main squeeze, and vice versa. As tempting as it once was he suddenly realized he didn't want to just be a main squeeze anymore. How could he now walk into a relationship where he knew she'd be with another man when he wasn't there?

"No."

She looked up at him sharply. "What did you say?" Her mouth was pressed into a thin line.

He straightened up and met her gaze. "I said no. I'm not going back to that again. That relationship, if you could even call it that, was not one I want to repeat. It was based on shallowness and vanity. Sex and money. Why would I ever want to get into something like that ever again?" He demanded of her.

She was shocked, but she quickly recovered. She laughed cruelly in her throat. "Well, I never thought you'd be one for commitment. And you're one to talk about shallow, you can't tell me you're not the person so obsessed with his looks that he has to keep a mirror and comb in his pocket anymore."

He automatically placed his hand over his pocket where, yes, he kept his comb and mirror.

She smirked. "Tell me if I'm wrong."

Again, she took his silence as resignation. "See, you haven't changed a bit. You know you want this. Alright, since your actually showing a backbone I'll make you a deal. You're a business man, aren't you?" She mocked.

"Making deals using what nights you'd come home with me won't work anymore." He said, and leaned against the jukebox.

She suddenly reverted back into anger. "How dare you! What are you implying?" She furiously demanded. Before he could answer she cut him off. "Are you implying I'm some sort of whore?"

"You spent my money like one." As soon as the words left his mouth he widened his eyes in shock. He didn't even mean to have said that.

Her expression must've matched his because the shock was etched deep into her expression. She recovered a split second before he did and suddenly the sound of skin hitting skin hard reverberated into the silence of the station.

He clutched a hand to his burning cheek where a red handprint was forming quickly.

"I … I didn't mean that. Really." As suddenly as his rebellious streak had aided him it had left, turning him into the old Schemer that she used to toy around with.

She must've noticed the immediate difference in him because she didn't storm out like he would've expected her to. She saw the man who was easy to play with because he let her walk all over his feelings and emotions. She switched into her last effort attempt to win him back. The one he'd be powerless against, her last resort.

She moved closer to him, pressing her body to his. She slid an arm around his neck slowly and pressed her other hand over his hand on his cheek.

"Schemer. You know that I care about you. You know that, don't you? I never meant for us to fall apart like that. Let me make you a promise. I promise that if you take me back I'll commit to you. I'll show you how much I care about you." She knew she was slowly enchanting him as she looked into his eyes. They were swimming with some sort of emotion, along with conflict, but she knew how to finish and win this battle. He was staring down at her with her body nestled against his, his mouth slightly hanging open as he took short and steady gasps of air. She knew it was the perfect time to strike.

She smiled coyly and kissed his jaw line, smiling to herself as she heard him sharply gasp. He moved both her hands to hold either side of his face as she kissed him fully on the mouth.

At first he didn't react, at first his mind was so clouded that he couldn't move. He unfroze quickly and responded to her fiery kiss, somehow as she kissed him he couldn't doubt what her promise had told him.

Or at least he wouldn't have doubted it if the small, rarely used voice of his conscience hadn't spoke up when it did.

"She used you."

He broke away from her lips suddenly. She looked at him imploringly and placed her hands back on his cheeks to pull him back into the kiss. But this time he held his ground. He gripped her hands in his own, holding them away from his body.

"You used me." He told her matter-of-factly.

"Schemer, how many times do I have to remind you? You knew what was going on, you knew the way our relationship worked. How can I have used you if you knew what was going on?" She asked in an annoyed sort of way.

He shook his head at her as a sad yet knowing smile formed on his face. "I understand now. I can't believe I'm so stupid for not realizing it sooner." He shook his head in self-mockery with a look of disbelief on his face. Letting go of her hands he walked to the banister where he ran one hand along the wood.

"What are you going to accuse me of now?" She asked with a huff in her voice.

He hit himself lightly on the forehead as if he had just remembered something forgotten. "It all makes sense now." He said sarcastically, enjoying watching her become increasingly flustered.

"What is it?!" She near shrieked.

"Sold to the highest bidder." He said with his trademark, crooked smirk coming to his face.

"What?" She snarled.

"You're main squeeze was the one who could offer you the most material goods. When he won you over you quickly became his bed-in partner but made the relationship look absolutely appealing by giving him the opportunity to wander." He explained.

"That's not true! Not a word of it!" She hissed. "Besides, you didn't wander at all. Unless you're confessing to something now."

"Nope, nothing to confess. I did zero wandering. I had hoped maybe you would look to commit-"

"As I'm doing now!" She cut in. But he continued on as if she hadn't.

"-but you never did. I kept waiting and waiting for some indication you might want to settle down. But I realize now that you never would, and you never will despite what you say. The guy before me was dropped from main squeeze status to the occasional romp when my arcade business started making me money. And both of us know what happened when the next guy with money rolled into town."

"Shut up!" She spat. "Stop spewing your filthy lies!"

"You packed up and left town with him." He concluded. "I came home one day and all your stuff was gone. The only thing left was a note left on my bed."

She was beyond anger now, she just stood there seething with pure rage.

"And finally, you must be back here because he ran out of cash." Schemer finished and looked her in the eye. "Isn't that right?"

She looked at him with hatred in her eyes. "You bastard." She said, the words dripping off her tongue like venom.

"You'll notice I've changed Jessica. I may still be the same shallow jerk I always was but at least I've cleared up that self-esteem issue, the one that only seemed to get worse when you were around."

"You haven't changed. You're still weak and pitiful. You'll never become strong, you think that by making all these 'connections' that you have me figured out. Well guess what. You'll never figure me out! You're just a simple small-town boy who'll never find any commitment. The thing you had going with me was the greatest thing you'll ever have and you'll never be able to find anything like it!" She screamed at him, her temper flaring beyond anything he had seen before.

She continued right on, "You're nothing without me. Look how lonely you are!" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger.

He shrugged, "I may be lonely, but I'm not desperate." He felt a twinge of regret admitting that she was right on at least one count.

She laughed cruelly. "Oh that's clever. But really, who else do you have?" She mocked.

He bit back his reply of, "my mommy" as he realized how pathetic it would sound. As he couldn't think of a response her smirk grew wider and wider. He almost would've lost this battle with her, if it weren't for the backup army that arrived just in time out of Harry's workshop.

"He has his friends." A gentle voice sung it's angel's chorus in his ears. The two of them turned to see the source. Stacy Jones stood in her red stationmaster's uniform. It gave her an impressive look, one of power. Jessica seemed to shrink a bit in her presence. Though they were both the same size Stacy looked much more intimidating.

Jessica looked from Schemer to Stacy before curling her lip in disgust.

"You're all freaks." She spat out before storming out of the station.

"You alright Schemer? I'm sorry, I was doing work in the office and I tried to block out most of the conversation but I just couldn't help but come out and say something. She was getting on my nerves." She said sympathetically.

He was about to reply when he looked at her. When he really looked at her closely. She stood there staring at him, her dark curls framing her delicate face. Her eyes were the most gentle and soulful he had ever seen in his life. They were beautiful. Her face was so delicate and soft, it gave her the look of unending kindness. He felt regretful, he had never noticed her before because he was always so focused on trying to get Jessica to settle down. But once she was gone for good he could truly appreciate Stacy's beauty.

He realized that his mouth had gone quite dry and his heart was beating as he looked at her. It was a strong feeling he had never felt for Jessica. It was like his heart was only beating for one person and one person only.

"Schemer?" She asked as she walked up to him. She put a hand over his hand on the banister. "Are you okay?" She looked up at him with large brown eyes full of compassion.

He stared into her eyes and saw exactly what he had lacked in his relationship with Jessica.

Love.

He suddenly realized that he was falling so fast that there was no way to catch him. He looked into her eyes and understood what his heart was trying to tell him. He was in love with Stacy Jones.

"Schemer? Schemer! What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

He shook himself out of his daze and broke his eye contact.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, I really-" He couldn't finish his sentence with "am" because at that moment the tears fell from his eyes so quickly that it didn't leave his tongue. He also barely had time to comprehend that her arms had wrapped themselves around his neck so fiercely or that she was whispering in his ear that it was going to be okay.

His world spun right off its axis and he lost all balance he might've had.

* * *

Okay so, this is a little two part story I'm working on. It's basically just a story of how Schemer fell in love with Stacy. I placed it at the end of season one because I think that's when the biggest change in Schemer took place. His interactions with everyone, most noticeably Stacy changed dramatically. But at the same time he didn't lose his Schemeresque behavior, he just fit in better. Part two will clear up any loose ends produced in part one. The time where Schemer and Jessica were together would be from before the start of season one and around the beginning, where obviously at some point she left him. Please read and review.


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